File Photo (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By James Peters

Nicola Lake Death

Merritt-area man dies after plunging through Nicola Lake ice

Mar 5, 2020 | 11:07 AM

MERRITT, B.C. — The B.C. Coroners Service is investigating after an apparent drowning on Nicola Lake over the weekend.

An email from Staff Sgt. Lorne Wood of Merritt RCMP states the man had walked out onto the ice to check a fishing rod Saturday (Feb. 29) when the ice gave way and he fell in.

When the man was eventually found by Nicola Valley Search and Rescue, he had succumbed to the cold water conditions.

An email from B.C. Coroners Service spokesman Andy Watson notes the man was in his 60s and was from the Nicola Valley.

Watson says investigators will continue to look into the circumstances surrounding the man’s death.

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Meantime, Wood says warmer-than-normal weather has weakened the ice on many lakes in the area.

He advises residents to be cautious and to check thickness of the ice before venturing onto it.